Catholic Church in Saxony-Anhalt urges voters to reject extremism as AfD leads polls ahead of crucial September elections.
Newsroom (07/05/2026 Gaudium Press ) The Catholic Church in Saxony-Anhalt has launched a new initiative urging voters to reject extremism and populist rhetoric ahead of September’s pivotal state elections, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is polling as the leading party.
The campaign, titled “Vote Consciously,” is framed by church leaders as a values-based intervention rather than a partisan effort. Bishop Gerhard Feige of the Diocese of Magdeburg said the initiative aims to provide moral guidance at a time when “hatred and incitement, as well as populist or extremist positions, become increasingly socially acceptable.”
“We are not targeting any one political party here,” Feige emphasized, underscoring that the campaign is rooted in broader ethical concerns rather than direct political opposition.
The initiative includes a poster campaign, training sessions for youth workers on addressing right-wing extremism, and workshops on argumentation strategies and legal tools to respond to authoritarian challenges. Public lectures will also form part of the program, including contributions from theologians and Frank Richter, former head of the Saxon State Agency for Civic Education, who is scheduled to speak on topics such as engaging with AfD voters.
The campaign comes amid shifting political dynamics in Saxony-Anhalt. Recent polling places the AfD at 38 percent, well ahead of the Christian Democratic Union at 26 percent. Other parties trail significantly, with the Left Party at 13 percent, the Social Democratic Party at 6 percent, and the Greens at 4 percent.
Tensions between the Catholic Church and the AfD have intensified in recent years. In May 2025, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, classified the AfD as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization. That designation, however, was temporarily suspended by a Cologne court in February 2026.
Bishop Feige has been among the most outspoken critics of the party. In a Lenten pastoral letter read across his diocese earlier this year, he warned that an AfD-led government could threaten “liberal democracy and pluralism, religious freedom as we know them, and tolerance.”
Drawing historical parallels, Feige pointed to both Nazi Germany and the former East German communist regime, cautioning that societies remain vulnerable to “seduction and manipulation.”
He called on Christians to ground their political choices in core values, urging resistance to “all forms of extremism and populism” and reaffirming commitments to human dignity, justice, solidarity, and peaceful coexistence.
Feige has also accused the AfD of misusing Christian language to advance its political agenda. He described such efforts as “hypocritical,” citing contradictions between the party’s public moral positions and its stance on issues such as refugees.
“The AfD’s attempt to cloak its positions in Christian terms is hypocritical,” Feige said, arguing that its rhetoric does not reflect a consistent commitment to the dignity of all people.
The “Vote Consciously” initiative has gained support from other Catholic organizations, including Caritas and the Edith Stein School Foundation. Despite Catholics making up only around 3 percent of Saxony-Anhalt’s population, the Church appears determined to assert its voice in the public debate as the election approaches.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Crux Now
Related Images:
